


To Dance Again

by TheArcReactor (LazarusII)



Series: Marvel One-Shots [9]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Avengers Endgame, F/M, Steve Rogers Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-09 05:20:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18631636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LazarusII/pseuds/TheArcReactor
Summary: The infinity stones are back where they belong and the world is safe once more. Steve Rogers finds himself back in the 1970s, sneaking into the SHIELD base for the last time.





	To Dance Again

**Author's Note:**

> This has _not_ been beta-read, so please excuse my lousy grammar and occasional mistakes.
> 
> \---  
> Basically Infinity War was an emotional roller-coaster ride for me. I thought: "well how much more emotional can it get?" Well, then Endgame happened. Nuff said. 
> 
> Lil' bit of word-vomit here, but I hope you guys all enjoy it!

The button seemed so harmless, its light metal band lightly bound to his wrist no more suspiciously than that of a common wristwatch. And yet he hesitated, a gloved finger hovering mere inches from its glassy face. With one press of the button, he would be transported just over five decades into the future. With one press of the button, he would be back home.

Hidden between the barracks and a tall hedge, Steve Rogers looked up from the white-plated gauntlet of his suit and sighed heavily. Instantly, his nose was assaulted by the dusty air of the 1970's SHIELD base, its constant bustle of soldiers and vehicles churning up the hot, dry earth.

 

It still seemed impossible that he was in the past with people he'd known in what felt like his 'past life'.

Inside Steve's mind, it was almost as though he were split into three different lives. His first life had been when he was born; all the times that he'd been bullied, beaten, and laughed at in the streets. That had been Steve Rogers before the serum, the Steve who’d been vulnerable and looked after by his best friend. Then there had been that short time where the world had seemed both spin out of control and stop altogether.

An intense longing filled his heart as he remembered his life during the war. Yes, it had been difficult, no war was ever easy to survive, but the good memories that he had were some of the best. He had been happy in those moments because of the people around him. Bucky, Peggy, Howard, and the Howling Commandos; they had been his family.

But that family had been ripped away from him by the war. First Bucky had fallen and been presumed dead, followed by himself shortly after. He’d been lost and then found, only to be reintroduced into a new world -a world which had aged decades since he’d last seen it. And no matter how hard he’d tried to fit into it and to make a new family, something had held him back. Maybe it was the image of Peggy Carter that he always carried with him, or it was just the notion that Captain America just wasn’t meant to be in what he still considered ‘the future’.  

A light wind shook the close branches of the hedge, its cool touch caressing his face. He shivered slightly, despite the fact that it had to be pushing nearly eighty-degrees outside.

The image of Tony leaned against the broken surface of a Chitauri ship still haunted him. It felt that almost every time Steve closed his eyes, the moment would return in full force, the emotional fallback twisted and magnified to the point of despair. 

And Tony wasn’t even the only one missing after the battle.

 

Natasha.

 

There wasn’t a good way to describe the hole that the ex-assassin had left in his heart. Her death had seemed surreal at first, an event which had sent ripples of sadness through the calm before the storm.

He wished he’d could’ve done something, _anything_ , to stop all of it before it could’ve happened.

Steve straightened his posture, exhaling forcefully, his right hand clenching about Mjolnir’s handle. Once again, his finger approached the button. It would be so easy to go back to 2023. He knew that Banner, Sam, and Bucky were anxiously awaiting his return.

_"Pep..."_

_“It’s alright, we’ll be okay, Tony. We’ll be fine.”_

With a sharp intake of breath, Steve squeezed his eyes shut. All at once, he knew what he needed to do. 

Almost savagely, he tinkered with the suit's controls, setting a new destination. There was no hesitation in his actions. 

The world would be safe.

The  _future_ would be safe. It had so many protectors, so many to take up the charge when Earth needed its heroes. 

 

With a sharp whirring, the mask closed about his face, lending only a couple second's notice until the world collapsed in upon itself. 

* * *

 

Most of the diner had been cleared, the tables and chairs pushed against the walls to clear the way for several slowly-rotating couples as they rocked to the beat of an old jukebox. Strings of lights hung from the ceiling, mixed in with the decor, giving the place an ethereal kind of feeling.

Despite the semi-darkness, several scantily clad women clocked him from a nearby table, their eyes focused on his face. Choosing to ignore the stares, Steve approached the table the furthest away from the door. A lonely woman sat there staring out the window with faraway eyes. 

Suddenly the world seemed silent. It didn't matter that the song had changed or that a small group of rowdy teens had entered the bar area; for Steve, it was just him and Peggy Carter who, quite by chance, still had not noticed his presence. 

He was there. The notion was impossible, yet he knew he was there. 

This was real. 

Slowly, Steve approached the table, casually leaning onto the chair across from Peggy. A smile spread across his face as the woman's eyes went wide. 

First came shock. 

Then tears. 

Then she was flying at him, her arms strangling him in a tight embrace. 

 

Steve hugged back, feeling emotion rise within him. A tear worked its way down his cheek as they slowly rocked from side to side. 

"Stupid. Rogers, what were you thinking?" She whispered into his jacket, voice muffled. 

 

Exhaling, Steve let go of all his regrets. This was what he'd been missing.

 

This was where he belonged.

"I missed you," was the only response he could give.  

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Apologies for the slight errors that this fic is bound to have with the smaller stuff in the movie (the little watch-thingy that they use for time travel, took ages to finally go with what I did)


End file.
